There's Always Next Year
by laurzz
Summary: DannyLindsayLucy. Christmas one-shot. Even with Lindsay's protests, Danny can see through her façade - what can he do to save their Christmas?


**A/N: Hey all! I hope you have all had a magical and wonderful Christmas (or Saturday teehee) and Santa has brought you everything you had on your lists - and if your festivities are still on-going; get off this story and go find some more turkey/ham/chicken/nutroast/other main dish you may have had and have a bit for me!**

**This one here is quite random. When I got home from my relatives' house this evening, I had the overwhelming urge to write some good old DL, but for some reason Fred came up with this - not sure where he got it from, but he did... so I hope you guys like it and it's not too different. **

**I just want to take the opportunity to thank you all very much for the lovely reviews from the last one-shot I posted, 'Until Now', I was a little wary of posting it, just because of the familiar face, shall we say - but I can safely say my concerns were unnecessary, (as ever!) because you were all lovely in your reviews. I really appreciate them all; they were lovely little early Christmas presents! hehe. There's no way I would have found the courage to post 100 stories (got carried away and wrote 1000 stories then... haha okay then) without you guys and your support. You guys really are fantastic and I appreciate every word you send my way! Be it constructive or complimentary, they all make my day! **

**So without further adieu, I'm going to thank you guys and let you get on with reading. Special thanks to: **Lindsay1234, gwen24, piper maru duchovny, MesserFamilyFan100, rapidtetv, afrozenheart412, Aveo amacus, Hope06, Saderia, rhymenocerous, messermonroeforever125, cklovesm-m, NothatRose, brendanakai, Catty, 18lzytwner and LoveIsInTheAir4DL!

**Hope you enjoy :)**

* * *

Turkey in the oven? Check.

Potatoes peeled and sat on the stove, waiting to be boiled for Lucy's beloved mashed potatoes? Check.

Stuffing ready to go in the oven? Check.

Leaning against the counter, Lindsay Messer let out a sigh as she did a mental checklist in her head to figure how much more she had to do. The sooner she got everything done and out of the way, the quicker she could collapse on the couch and close her eyes.

She hated being sick. Feeling weak and not having any energy pissed her off on the best of days – but Christmas? Karma was kicking her ass for _something._ She'd managed to keep up the bright and happy facade so far, but she wondered for how much longer she'd be able to keep being chipper for her husband and daughter. Sighing, she continued on with her mental checklist.

Sweet Potatoes? Check.

Green bean casserole? Check.

Corn? Check.

Roasted potatoes? Check.

Those cute little Yorkshire puddings things Mac had told her about from his trip to England with Peyton back in '07? Check.

Pecan Pie ready to go for the dessert? Check.

Lucy's Christmas cookies?

Looking around the kitchen frantically, Lindsay thumped the countertop with her fist and then instantly cradled the throbbing hand to her chest. "Shit," She muttered under her breath. The one thing Lucy had been asking for, she'd forgotten. "Typical." She continued to mutter to herself. "Just typical."

"They say the first sign of insanity is talkin' to yourself." A chuckling voice sounded from behind her. "What's typical?"

"Nothing," She huffed. "Nothing, it's nothing."

"The fact that you said nothing three times tells me it's somethin'." Danny said as he snaked his arms around her waist, "What's the problem, babe?"

"I forgot Lucy's Christmas cookies. You know the Santa sugar cookies she really wanted me to make... and I was just going to buy them. So I don't have the cookies, and I don't have any ingredients to make them... even if I had the time."

"Baby... she's so wrapped up in everythin' Santa brought her," he winked, "that she's not going to pay a bit of notice to the lack of Christmas cookies." Danny took a moment to observe the storm Lindsay had managed to create in their relatively small kitchen. "Damn, are we feedin' the five thousand or somethin'?"

Giving the kitchen a once over, Lindsay blushed slightly and wrapped her arms around Danny's torso, nuzzling her face into his chest. "I may have gone a little overboard," she shrugged. "I'm used to my Mom cooking."

"And your Mom cooks for the entire state of Montana," Danny nodded. "And even then you guys have to eat leftovers for the next two months; that's right, I remember now."

"Don't be smart." She snipped. "You can't say your Mom is any different."

"Even with just her and my Dad today, she'll have made dinner for about twenty people. When I picked our turkeys up, theirs was freaking bigger than ours."

"Well Danny, we are going for dinner tomorrow... it'd make sense for her to get a big one to accommodate for both days."

"Nah," He teasingly shook his head. "She just over-estimates my Dad's appetite."

"Whatever," she shrugged her husband off. "Look I have to-"

"Go and sit on the couch and close your eyes for five minutes."

She shot him a look of disbelief. "And who else is going to finish off dinner?"

"Um, hello?" He pointed to his chest before wrapping his arms around her tightly. "Seasoned cook over here."

"In your head maybe."

"Babe, c'mon. You were up until three-thirty wrappin' her presents... then you were up at six with her."

"So were you." She reasoned. "And actually you were up until four, Dan. You should be dead on your feet right now."

"Yeah but I'm not sick."

"I'm not sick."

She faltered under his intensive gaze that accompanied the accusation. How the hell had he known she wasn't feeling well?

"I'm fine."

"Lindsay... I can see it in your face babe, you're not well at all."

"I'm fine," she insisted pathetically. "I'm just tired."

Danny raised his eyebrows and wrapped his arms tighter around her, pressing a kiss to her forehead. "Baby, go lie down for an hour. I'll see if I can scrape together some ingredients make sugar cookies, and I'll get everything else ready."

"This isn't how I wanted Christmas to be," she pouted, "I wanted it to be special... us cooking dinner together, singing to carols, playin' with Lucy's presents... so far all we've done is cook dinner and I've done a crummy job of that anyway."

"Babe, all of this smells insane." Danny shook his head. "I'm starvin' to death and just the smell wafting from the kitchen is killin' me... you don't gotta worry about messin' it up because you're an amazing cook. There's no way you could mess it up."

"And I barely remember what Santa brought Lucy I was feeling so crappy."

"Well I recorded it all, so we can watch it over, okay? Don't worry babe, I got you covered. Go lay down."

"I'm too tired to even argue with you." She growled at him before letting out a sigh and a pathetic whimper. "I'm sorry. I'm such a grump. I just..." she took a deep breath as she prepared herself to admit it. "I'm just not well."

"Go sleep," he said with a smike, pressing a kiss to the tip of her nose. "I'll wake you up."

"Oh as if I haven't heard that before," she attempted a giggle before pressing a kiss to his cheek. "Are you sure?"

"Absolutely," he nodded. "I'll make sure Lu's occupied so she's not in and out of the bedroom."

"No, you don't have to do that... if she wants to come in-"

"She can wait an hour or two babe," he told her. "Go on, go."

"I promise I won't be like the Grinch after my nap," she joked, pressing one last kiss to her husband's cheek. Lindsay then handed him her apron and padded out of the kitchen and headed straight to bed; hoping and praying that the power nap would give her a teeny tiny bit of energy back.

* * *

An hour and a half later, Danny smiled as he placed the last casserole dish onto their table. He rubbed his hands together as he quietly called for Lucy, telling her to go wash her hands as he grabbed a bottle of water for Lindsay, a sippy cup filled with apple juice for Lucy and a beer for himself.

Before long, he heard two little feet racing into the living room with arms outstretched. "Look Daddy! Look!"

"All clean!" he sing-songed as he lifted her in the air and blew a raspberry to her tummy.

"All clean!" she echoed, shrieking with giggles as Danny lifted her festive red and green shirt, sent all the way from a certain someone in New Orleans, so that he had better access to her chubby belly. "Lucy doesn't need any food though, does she?"

"I DO!" She cried. "Daddy! I do!"

"No you don't." He smirked, holding her in the air still.

"Daddy yes!"

"No..."

"I do!" she insisted, "Daddy my belly empty!"

"It is?" He gasped, bringing her close and pressing her stomach to his ear. "Oh heavens!" he cried. "Why is your tummy rumbling?"

"I hungwy!" she said in a matter of fact tone.

"Alright, alright," he chuckled, setting her in her booster seat at the table. "Can you pinky swear me you can sit here and wait for me and Mommy while I go wake her up?"

Considering it, Lucy nodded with a smile. "I wait."

"That's my big girl," he praised as he ruffled her curls.

Quickly Danny turned and made his way down the hallway and quietly opened their bedroom door. He opened his mouth to wake her up, but instantly, his mouth closed and a smile stretched across his face.

Lindsay had apparently changed before she'd gotten into bed and slipped into one of his shirts – something she didn't often do – but she was also laid on his side of the bed; her face pressed down into his pillow.

He perched himself at the edge of the bed and turned the lamp on. He then laid a hand on her back and slowly rubbed circles onto the area of the back she loved to be tickled on; gently waking her from her nap.

"Linds," he whispered in her ear, "Babe... baby."

"Hmm?"

"You hungry?"

"Mmpfh,"

"Linds?" he continued. "C'mon darlin', dinner's ready."

Bleary eyed, she turned to face him and let out a yawn. "Mmm,"

"Hey sweetheart, how you feelin'?"

"Shitty," she sniffled, her bottom lip pouted.

"I was going to bring you some pain killers but I'm not sure what's wrong and why you're feeling bad, so I didn't want to give you some for the sake of it."

"It's okay, it's the thought that counts," she rasped. "I feel so bad Dan, it's like Christmas is all screwed up."

"Nah," he shook his head. "It's just a bit different."

"I thought for sure though this nap was going to make me feel better... I just feel worse now."

"No wonder, your head was buried in my pillow." He moved her bangs from her eyes.

She blushed as her fingers sought out his. "I... I just thought that maybe if I felt like you were cuddlin' me, I'd feel better."

"Aaaw," he gushed, his heart aching at the look in her eyes. She desperately wanted to feel better – to make the day special for both him and Lucy - but she just didn't have it in her.

"You feelin' up to eatin' anything?" He tried, even though he already knew the answer.

Sighing Lindsay shook her head with watery eyes. "I really don't think so, my eyes are really heavy and I just don't feel like I can stomach anything right now. I'm so sorry Danny... you and Lucy should eat though. I could maybe try eat something later."

"You know what, give me two seconds."

"What? Why? Where are you goin'?"

"I'll be two seconds baby, hang tight here, okay?"

"Where else would I be going?" she muttered to herself as he disappeared from the room.

* * *

"Where's Momma, Daddy?" Lucy inquired, her face completely covered in mashed potatoes as Danny made his way into the living room a few minutes later.

"Lucy, what on earth were you doing?" he implored, trying to fight the grin on his face. "Did you leave Mommy and Daddy any potatoes?"

Glancing to the bowl, to her spoon and then her father, Lucy shrugged.

"I suppose it's my own fault for leaving you _and_ putting the potatoes right there in front of you... everyone knows Lucy Messer is a mashed potato piggy," he teased.

"Nom nom nom," she munched on her spoon, clearing the remnants of the last scoop she'd taken. "ooze, lose."

"You snooze, you lose," he laughed. "That's right. That's what Daddy says to Mommy all the time."

"Where is Momma?" Lucy repeated her previous question. "She nappy still?"

"Yeah baby," he sighed. "She's still sleeping, she really doesn't feel good."

Lucy stuck out her bottom lip and sighed. "Poor Mommy."

"I know," He nodded. "So, you hungry, Lu?"

"Daddy, I... Daddy... I sowwy."

"What are you sorry about, kiddo?"

"You be mad."

"I'll be mad? Why? What did you do?"

"I full," she whispered. "I sowwy. Me no hungwy now."

Taking a moment to think, Danny shrugged. "You know what kiddo, its okay..."

Lucy blinked. "I... not in time out?"

"No, for once..." Danny said, formulating a plan in his head. "I think because it's Christmas we can have a one off."

"Yay Daddy!" She squealed excitedly, clapping her hands together while smiling and giggling that she wasn't in trouble.

"Lu, listen to Daddy for a second," he began, breaking up his toddler's excitement before she got _too_ excited. "Mommy's still not feeling good, so what do you think about me, you and Mommy takin' a nap... maybe if we go and hug her, she'll feel better."

Lucy nodded excitedly. "Make Mommy better!"

"I'm glad you agree." Danny smiled.

"Kisses 'elp me!" Lucy reminded her father. "We kiss Momma?"

"Maybe," Danny chuckled. "But she's not feelin' good though so we don't wanna kiss her too much in case Lulu gets what Mommy's got, and Mommy would be sad if Lucy felt as bad as what Mommy does... and so would Daddy. Daddy doesn't want either of his girls to be sick." He swooped her out of her booster seat and fixed her on his hip as he quickly headed to the bedroom. "To the batcave, batgirl." He exclaimed excitedly, making Lucy squeal in excitement.

As he pushed open the bedroom door, he set Lucy on the floor. "Look who I've-" he trailed off as Lucy tugged on his jeans and held a finger to her lips, indicating that Danny needed to be quiet.

In the two minutes it had taken him to get their daughter from the table, Lindsay had fallen asleep once again, this time curled into a tight ball, buried underneath a mountain of covers and comforters.

"Poor Mommy," Lucy whispered as she made her way to the bed and ran her little fingertips over Lindsay's arm that was peeking out from under the duvet. "Mommy's 'ick,"

"She is," Danny nodded as he rounded her side of the bed and climbed in. He then indicated for Lucy to follow his lead and make her way around the bed. When she did, he lifted her onto the bed and settled her under the covers between him and Lindsay. "Alright kiddo. No squirmin' k?"

Yawning, Lucy nodded. "'K,"

Sandwiching Lucy in between the both of them, Danny pressed a kiss to his daughter's temple as her head hit the pillow. There was a few seconds delay, but before he knew it, her eyes were drooping shut and her breathing evened out almost straight away. Astonished, he shook his head as a small smile graced his lips. He draped his arm across his girls, encasing them in a protective shield.

He wasn't particularly tired himself; but Lucy could benefit from having a quick power nap to keep her going for the rest of the day (not to mention she must have been exhausted from waking up at the crack of dawn to open her presents) and Lindsay; well Lindsay definitely needed down time to give her immune system the chance to fight off whatever it was she'd come down with before it hit her with it's full force.

Really though, just watching them as their chests rose and fell in sync to another was good enough for him. In fact, he couldn't think of a better way to spend their Christmas; at home, with his girls, tucked up in the safety of their warm bedroom. And although he'd like for Lindsay to be her usual happy and bubbly self, even she got taken down sometimes; giving him the chance to step up to the plate and look after her like she looked after him.

It hadn't been the Christmas either of them had expected in terms of festivities, but... there was always tomorrow to celebrate. And if tomorrow didn't work out too well – there was always next year; or the year after... or the year after.

Either way, Danny Messer knew that there would be a lot more Christmases to celebrate with his girls.

* * *

**So there you have it, Daddy Danny in full Daddy mode in this one - hope you guys liked it. As always, thoughts and comments are appreciated and welcomed with open arms! hehe. **

**Thanks for reading. **

**And... Merry Christmas!**


End file.
